Money laundering case: ED arrests Ozone Urbana CMD for cheating homebuyers of over ₹927 crore

S. Vasudevan | Photo credit: TH

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Bengaluru Zonal Office, arrested S. Vasudevan, CMD and promoter of Ozone Urbana Infra Developers Pvt. Ltd., in connection with a money laundering investigation into an alleged ₹927.22 crore fraud involving home and apartment buyers.

Vasudevan was arrested on September 30 under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The ED said his investigation was initiated on the basis of numerous FIRs filed at various police stations in Bengaluru alleging fraud by impersonation and cheating by fraudulent inducement against the firm and its supporters.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also registered an FIR against the firm on the direction of the Supreme Court, the ED said in a press release.

The company allegedly failed to complete its projects within the stipulated time and did not hand over the ownership of the flats to the home buyers, according to the ED.

The agency alleged that the company had induced customers by offering to pay pre-production EMIs till the handover of ownership, but subsequently defaulted. The ED also alleged that the company neither delivered the residential units nor refunded the amounts deposited by the home buyers and instead misappropriated the reservation and advance loan amounts.

ED investigation revealed that Ozone Urbana Infra Developers Pvt. Ltd., along with Vasudevan, allegedly defrauded home buyers of ₹927.22 crore.

On August 1, 2025, the ED conducted searches at various premises and seized documents. Based on its investigation, the agency issued an interim attachment order on 4 October 2025, attaching immovable property worth ₹423.378 million.

The ED said a parallel investigation has also been initiated on the basis of three FIRs registered by the CBI against Ozone Infra Developers Pvt. Ltd., Ozone Realtors Pvt. Ltd. and Ozone Projects Pvt. Ltd. for allegedly defrauding home buyers.

Vasudevan is the joint director of all the three companies, the ED said.

According to the agency, the arrest was made based on materials collected during the investigation. It aims to further investigate the alleged creation, diversion, layering and use of proceeds of crime, including the role of the originator, group entities and other persons through whom the funds were allegedly channeled.

The accused was produced before the Special Court in Bengaluru on October 1. The court granted the ED a 14-day remand for further investigation.

Published – 02 Oct 2026 18:51 IST